Austrian Grand Prix predictions: Piastri the pick for Spielberg
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- Oscar Piastri has won five of the 10 races this season
- Esteban Ocon has finished in the points in two of the last three races
- Recommended bets:
- Oscar Piastri to win race
- Esteban Ocon top-10 finish
The Austrian Grand Prix is the 11th race in the 2025 F1 World Championship and another interesting weekend is in store after the last four races each produced different winners.
McLaren's Oscar Piastri extended his advantage over team-mate Lando Norris in the championship to 22 points despite finishing only fourth in Canada two weeks ago behind Mercedes’ George Russell, who was winning for the first time this season.
Russell was also successful in the 2024 Austrian Grand Prix, when he benefited from a clash between world champion Max Verstappen and Lando Norris as they battled for the lead, and more close racing is expected at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg on Sunday.
The stats
Oscar Piastri has won half of this season's 10 races, while McLaren team-mate Lando Norris has seven top-two finishes this year.
Max Verstappen has won only one of the last seven races, but holds the record for Austrian Grand Prix wins with four and also won the 2021 Styrian Grand Prix at Spielberg.
Both McLarens have finished on the podium together seven times this season.
Both Ferraris have finished in the top six at each of the last four races.
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Prediction
Oscar Piastri stretched his lead in the world championship from 10 points to 22 in Canada despite finishing off the podium for only the second time this season.
To round off a disappointing weekend for McLaren, Piastri was rammed by teammate Lando Norris in the final stages of the race, costing Norris the 10 points he would have earned for fifth place.
The British driver looked the faster of the pair at several points over that weekend, when he was using a new suspension configuration that Piastri opted not to try.
However, his late incident was far from the first time this season that he has made a costly mistake and Piastri looks the more reliable selection at a track that should suit the McLaren far more than Montreal did.
With Mercedes expecting a tougher time in Spielberg, Russell may not be able to repeat his wins in Canada or at this track last season, and while Max Verstappen may prove to be the best of the rest, the opportunity should be there for McLaren to score their first Austrian success since David Coulthard in 2001.
Piastri inherited second place in last year's Spielberg race when Verstappen's over-aggressive defence ruined his own race and ended Norris'.
He had started down in seventh on the grid after his best qualifying lap time was deleted for breaching track limits, which is a constant menace at the tight Austrian circuit.
The Aussie finished second in the sprint race last year from third on the grid, and also has the advantage of being in the car for all the practice sessions this year, while Norris is handing his car over to Irish Formula 2 racer Alex Dunne for the opening hour on Friday.
Ferrari are hoping for an improved performance after bringing a new floor this week and Charles Leclerc could contend for the podium at a track where he won in 2022 and has been second three times, but third place may be the limit of his ambitions.
For a second bet on the race, consider Esteben Ocon of Haas to finish in the top 10. The Frenchman has picked up points in two of the last three races, with seventh place in Monaco and ninth in Canada, and he is an impressive ninth in the championship with 22 points.
Ocon has gone well at Spielberg for his previous teams, finishing sixth for Force India in 2018 and fifth for Alpine in 2022, while his new team got both their cars in the points in Austria last season, with Nico Hulkenberg sixth and Kevin Magnussen eighth.
